Zero nitrite and nitrate... Prime/Stability?

[tangcla]

Thanks, will do a water change tomorrow. 1/4 or 1/3 enough?

Also, would adding Purigen help my cause?

[Tech Support EH]

You could do a water change, but I would do only 20-25%. I would not put Purigen in your filter until the tank has cycled fully.

[tangcla]

Thanks for your help. I got some used media from my dad's outdoor fish pond, hopefully it went into my canister ok (ie it didn't die on the way!) do you know how long bacteria survives out of the water, so to speak?

[Tech Support EH]

Unfortunately, that is really hard ti say, though I am sure that some colonies should have survived. I would dose some Stability directly to the media.

[tangcla]

At what point should I discontinue the Prime and Stability medication?

[Tech Support EH]

You can discontinue the use of these when you feel that your biofilter has reached maturity. If you are still getting readings for ammonia or nitrites, then continuing to add Prime will keep these detoxified. Nitrates are not toxic at low levels, so when you see them remaining under control and no longer rising, you can discontinue daily use of Stability. I would, however, recommend that you use Stability as part of your routine maintenance; therefore, add some each time you do a water change to boost the biofilter.

Have a nice weekend.

[tangcla]

Still not cycled...
but I did have a chat with a friend of mine and I think I know where I've been going wrong... I haven't shut the taps to my canister filters when I have been doing my water changes, so I may just be killing my bacteria every time I do a WC!

It's funny how neglecting to mention the slightest detail could cause a whole process to be overlooked.

[Tech Support HK]

You may be losing some colonies during water changes if you do not shut the taps. Although, I never shut the taps on mine. I have found that if I do shut them during water changes, when I re-open them post water change, detritus ends up being blown back into the tank, which will actually lead to an increase in ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate levels.

Do you also dose Stability after each water change? Since you did start off with a large bioload, unfortunately it will take longer to cycle properly. It is fairly easy to establish a strong biofilter when the introductory waste is low since the bacteria will be able to consume the waste quicker than it is produced. Unfortunately, when a lot of fish are added before the proper amount of bacteria have been allowed to colonize, the bacteria will be playing catch up for awhile.

Also, the media that was added could have contributed to the amount of waste within the tank if it contained any detritus, of if some bacterial colonies did die off.

[tangcla]

Yes I've been using Stability every water change.

I've just bought another tank, a larger 4x2x2 so this time I will take my time to cycle first, and only move the fish over after a while. Might try to get a dead goldfish or something to cycle it faster :p

[Tech Support HK]

Fishless cycling is always much easier. We simply add a few fish flakes to the water weekly, and dose Stability every day. This way, there is a sufficient amount of waste created to feed the bacteria, but there will not be an excess of waste. Just a thought ;)